


A Brief Overview of Reptilium Sapiens Anatomy and Physiological Behaviors

by pristinepastel



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Anatomy, Au Ra (Final Fantasy XIV), Au Ra Raen (Final Fantasy XIV), Au Ra Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Au Ra Xaela (Final Fantasy XIV), Fantasy Anatomy Lore, Gen, Medical Jargon, i did literal academic research for this, i even have sources, i think i might have a problem;;, no beta i’m already dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26062255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pristinepastel/pseuds/pristinepastel
Summary: I thank the book club discord for putting up with this nonsense while i google searched my twelves-damned heart out. i am an au ra fanatic. my wol-sona is an au ra. i am fifty three lizards in a recycled flesh suit. lets have some fun with sapient herpetology
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: Emet-Selch's Wholesomely Debauched Bookclub FFXIV-Writes 2020 Collection





	A Brief Overview of Reptilium Sapiens Anatomy and Physiological Behaviors

**Forward**

This is the result of over two weeks of google research and an obsession with meta-science lore. Enjoy this brief synopsis of the anatomies and behaviors of the Au Ra ( _reptilium sapiens_ ) species and it's subspecies, Xaela ( _reptilium sapiens sbs. inumbratus_ ) and Raen( _reptilium sapiens sbs. apricus_ ).

**Au Ra Facial Anatomy**

The reason the different sub-species of Au Ra have different tongues, is the result of different evolutionary needs. Raen usually live closer to water, and a large amount of them under the sea as a whole. They don’t need to scent the air, because there's no air to scent. Xaela however, living majorly on the Steppe, a grassland surrounded by mountain range, would have a better need to narrow down where their prey is. The second reason is that Raen have blue tongues, which led me to base them more on blue-tongued skinks, and skinks don't have forked tongues.

It is commonly known that snakes have forked tongues to "smell", or at least figure out which direction a smell is coming from. Monitor lizards are the same-- they're the only lizards that have forked tongues, in fact. Forked tongues work by collecting odor particles from the air, from two different sides. If there's more particles on one side than the other, whatever they're smelling is in the direction of that side. Underwater, there's no need to "look" for odor particles this way— they are diffused into the water. In this case I believe Raen hunt by sight, instead of smell. After all, water masks most scents, and saltwater even more so. There’s a reason pirate stories and songs mention smelling the sea air. Sharks may hunt by smell underwater, but they don’t need forked tongues to do so— their prey can be above, below, anywhere. Snakes and Xaela don’t really need to change altitude or depth as often.

Xaela also have black sclera, similar to larger species of predatory lizard— that means they hunt from stealth, since black sclera makes your eyes harder to see at night, so they'd be less likely to be spotted by prey.

**Au Ra Wound Recovery**

The most well known phenomena is Autotomy, or in layman’s terms the tail eject button. In some species you see the tail regrow completely, but considering how large Au Ra are it’s more likely they’d be like geckos. Geckos just heal over easily, ending up with what gecko owners lovingly call “frog butt”. In geckos, the scar may not be visible like on human skin, but hot damn the fact that something’s missing is obvious.

As for other wounds, just like Hyur they heal from the edges-in. But unlike hyur, the new “skin” is more akin to cartilage— at least if the wounded area is in a scaled part of the body, in the scale-less part it’s almost exactly the same as hyur or other sentient mammal.

Depending on the type of Au Ra, or the type of wound, the scar will end up looking very different. Shallower wounds like bites tend to allow the scales in that area to regrow, but without proper care the scales affected can end up raised or discolored. And sometimes, the scales don’t regrow at all, leaving the layer of discolored flesh beneath the scales visible instead.

  
  


**Au Ra Horn Anatomy and Care**

Despite the common belief of eorzeans and ishgardians who don't have experience with Au Ra, the horns of an Au Ra are not made of bone.

Most of the horn of an Au Ra is for protection, covering/shielding the actual ear of the horn which is much closer to the head. Hidden among the scales of that area is the ear— situated at the juncture between the horn and the jawbone, with an opening in the cartilage and scales leading to the inner ear. The inner ear of an Au Ra is almost completely identical to the average Hyur or Elezen.

The further from the head, the tougher the horn. The closer it gets, the more ‘malleable’ it is— the ears need to be a bit flexible to flush themselves of debris, after all.

At the core of the horn is a reservoir of blood vessels and nerve endings, with less blood flow the further the horn is from the head. Most Au Ra tend to pierce their horns for jewelry in the cartilage area of the horn, though some also go on to modify the keratin area of the horns— these modifications have to be carefully made, to make sure they don't go deep enough to pierce the core.

Au Ra with damaged horns cannot grow the horn back, but the area where the horn used to be usually scars over with new scales. If proper care is taken, the scales grow in just like the old scales, but left untreated the scales can either grow back discolored or patchy, or not at all— instead showing the layer of skin beneath the scales. Horns usually don't bleed from wounds unless the wound is exceptionally deep or traumatic. Shallow cuts scar over like any normal wound on the body.

While an Au Ra doesn't feel much through their horns, the skin on the horn is still living and not immune to temperature. So care has to be taken to cover them properly, for the same reason that fingerless gloves aren’t very effective.In extreme cold, an Au Ra should take care to not let their horns freeze over for fear of frostbite, since it can lead to the horn getting gangrene and infecting the blood.To protect their horns, they can wear specialized hats with little pockets designed for their particular horn shape. Imagine a beanie but with loose fabric that can be stretched and buttoned over the horns.

As for dealing with their horns interfering with sleep, Au Ra tend to have various solutions to choose from:

  1. Specialized pillows for their particular horns. Some use neck pillows, others use thick pillows that fit between their horns so their head can rest without their horns stabbing their mattress, etc.
  2. Some prefer covering their horns with little cushioned sleeves, like muffs that people used to use to keep their hands warm. This is mostly preferred for Au Ra who don't sleep alone.
  3. Others just stab blunt cork onto the sharp bits of their horns and forget about them for the night, like goats who won't stop breaking out of their pens. Some Au Ra don't have to worry because either their particular horns aren't pointy or are small, so they just use normal pillows like other races. Children usually follow this example. 



  
  


**Au Ra Mating Behavior**.

For this I’m basing the behavior off a combination of snakes and frogs, since theirs is easiest to emulate on a sentient species. Frogs of course use sound, some small species using tricks like pitch to make themselves sound bigger/louder and more easily found. In Au Ra, this would largely have become a vestigial behavior(meaning they’ve mostly evolved past the need for mating calls), but retain the ability in the form of unconscious reactions. Kind of like a miqo’te growling or purring. They retain the ability to bellow (like gators), and hiss (like crocodiles). Rumbles and clicks and such are also common, and some can also squeak when overwhelmed. Deeper pitched than that well known angry sand frog, but same concept

Snakes, meanwhile, other than the obvious wrestling to achieve dominance over rivals, also have contact behavior with the one they want to mate with. They tend to tap their chin on the other’s back. Some have theorized its to exchange pheromones with their partner.

Some species of lizards can also reproduce via parthenogenesis, meaning they don’t need a partner— in some tribes on the Steppe I feel like it’d be an asset, a rare ability that’d be seen as a blessing. Particularly in tribes where there’s only one gender, or not enough available partners to repopulate the tribe after a major loss.

Nest building in one or both partners is an Extremely common mating behavior. The urge to make a safe spot for their partner to lay, or make a safe spot to lay themselves, is an innate behavior. These nests tend to differ based on environments, usually a mixture of soft lining with harder walls— in the case of Au Ra outside of the steppe the walls tend to be part of their living space already so that part of the nest is sometimes ignored. The soft materials can go from plants, to furs, to wool, to cotton blankets, or shirts scented with either their own or their partner’s pheromones. In the steppe the protective walls can be rocks, wooden slats, forgotten weapons— really depends on their particular tribal culture/what they have access to.

Au Ra have an interesting mating timeline. The amount of time between mating and pregnancy and childbearing varies wildly based on factors including environment, climate, stress, lots of things. But generally an Au Ra pregnancy lasts six-seven months. Shorter than a hyur or elezen pregnancy, that’s for sure. Au Ra who couple with other races such as Hyur or Elezen tend to shock their partners, who usually have experience with longer pregnancies. Make sure the partner is aware, so they don’t panic and assume the birth is premature.

**Au Ra Sexual Reproduction**

This is one of the most obvious differences between the subspecies of Au Ra, second to the coloration.

To begin, we shall start with the anatomy they share. Au Ra only have a single lower orifice, known as a vent, similar to how birds have the cloaca.This orifice is multi-functional, connecting to both the urinary, digestive, and reproductive systems. Compared to Hyur, the sexual organs of an Au Ra are situated closer to the front of the abdomen, rather than the middle of the groin. Where Hyur have a sexual difference in the pelvic bone, Au Ra do not have this trait. The tail of the Au Ra is long enough that it doesn’t hinder the space for childbirth. As with most other sapient species in Eorzea, most Au Ra have either a uterine system or a penile system, but where other species may have external penile and testicular organs

(an exception being the Hrothgar who have sheaths), all Au Ra regardless of sex have only internal reproductive organs. For Au Ra with penile organs, they have an additional pocket on their lower abdomen near their vent, where the penis resides when not in use.For protection, the outside of the pocket is lined with scales. During sexual activity, the penis emerges from this pocket for use. The lining of this area can be extremely sensitive during intercourse. A key difference between Xaela and Raen Au Ra is noted here. Xaela have a single penis similar to a crocodile or alligator, where-as Raen have a hemipene similar to a monitor lizard or snake.

**The Effects of Hormone Therapy on Au Ra**

Every experience with hormone treatment is unique due to dosage, the time of the treatment starts, age, and method of implementation, so this section will detail the most likely effects without going into too much detail. For female-to-male hormone treatments, the changes that can be expected are:

  * Enlarged clitoris
  * Horn growth
  * Increase in body hair
  * Increase in height
  * Deeper voice



In male-to-female transition, the changes can be as follows:

  * Penile shrinkage
    * In Raen, the secondary pene can sometimes shrink to a greater degree to the primary pene.
  * Increased Breast Size



  
  


**Au Ra Shed Behavior**

Most reptiles tend to get really cranky and snappy when they’re going to go into shed. So usually it’s best to let them self isolate! It tends to be very itchy. Some lose their appetite during the process, too. 

Au Ra tend to be _extremely_ touch averse and easily annoyed/frustrated while they’re in shed, usually going to a safe spot to do so alone/in peace. In this case, since not all of them is covered in scales, It doesn’t all come off in one piece.

The key symptoms in Au Ra would be duller scales; a Xaela’s becoming less sleek and shiny black, more of a dull, dark grey, and a Raen’s becoming a duller white, almost tinted cream. When the shedding finally begins, the best tool to help it along is water. It helps loosen the old shed from the new scales. Most lizards tend to try scratching the shed off with their talons, while snakes use their environment— wrapping around rocks, and such. For Au Ra, they’d need specialized tools to get at their back scales and the roots of their tails in particular. The most common tools used are some variation of a stick with a rough bit of stone, or a dull bit of metal tied to the end. kind of like a back scratcher, but more powerful.

Sometimes, problems arise— The most often, stuck shed. Stuck shed and retained eye caps are extremely difficult for the reptile to get rid of without outside help. So it’s now when they’d have to either bite the bullet and ask someone they trust for assistance, like a parent, lover, sibling, or friend, or instead sit tight and hope it goes away on its own.

In this case, we’ll assume the Au Ra asked for help. The person who agreed to help them would have a washcloth soaked in warm water, and gently rub at the problem area until it comes loose. For the Au Ra shedding, they’re too irritable and frustrated to do it gently, so they’d hurt themselves trying to scratch it off on their own. Usually the problem areas for an Au Ra would be between the folds of the horns, where the horns meet the scalp, eye caps(when applicable), and the base of the fingers/toes.

Unlike heats/ruts, where the instinct causes the feeling of loneliness, shed causes the feeling of being over-crowded, social anxiety, irritability, etc. So unless you’re prepared to deal with a cranky Au Ra who doesn’t want to be touched, it’s best to leave them alone, maybe send food and refreshments up every so often, until they’re done in a few suns and come down on their own.

**Au Ra Talon Care**

Raen are a bit more modernized when it comes to such things, given they’re more spread out into society, so they use files and nippers and the like that everyone else uses.

On the steppe, those things are less common. While some tribes might have foreign hygiene tools, like the tribes at reunion, or the ones who moved into more inhabited areas, most of the nomadic tribes probably wouldn’t have access to them. I feel like they’d use the same tools they do for weapon up-keep like whetstones, or scratching wooden posts. Most tribes would teach their children how to maintain their talons and horns and scales properly. For those that are either abandoned or have lost their tribes too young, however…

My warrior of light Pristine --a Xaela Au Ra--, for example, has bad nail habits. While they know _of_ the tools tribes used to maintain their talons, they couldn’t afford to trade for such precious commodities. 

“Scratch stone means no fish,” they said when Setsuko--a Raen Au Ra-- asked horrified after watching them gnaw off one of their talons then scrape the remainder on a tree.

**Raen Coloration**

While Raen are known for their blue tongues and blush, their blood is not actually blue. Their tongue is a result of an excess amount of melanin. They are especially visible under UV light, and it is thought that the tongue was originally meant to scare off predators.

Their blood may not be blue, but it is still an unordinary color-- green. Their blood is tinged as a result of a high amount of biliverdin, a type of bile pigment, which when put through the circulation process causes jaundice in most species, but shockingly doesn’t seem to cause any health issues in Raen Au Ra. The bilirubin that results from this process eclipses the red blood cells, causing a more greenish hue! Raen seem to have developed a resistance to bile pigment toxicity. The bile pigment is theorized to have developed as an antioxidant that destroys atoms associated with diseases.

Raen are probably even better known for their white scales. The scales of any reptile, sapient or otherwise, is determined by genetics. Each Au Ra’s scale pattern is unique, but Raen scales can be especially striking as a result of how shiny they can be. The bright white color is a result of a high concentration of a specific type of chromatophore known as leucophores, also common in fish. Their scales are highly reflective, take care not to look directly at a Raen Au Ra’s scales when you’re near a bright light source!

**Au Ra Vocalizations and Sub-Vocalizations**

Au Ra have a very similar vocal anatomy to that of the Alligator or Crocodile, in that they have a specialized muscle known as the glottal adductor, which allows the vocal cords to shut either it’s top half or bottom half individually. This causes the well known vibrations and bellows that they produce. There is another muscle involved called the cricoarytenoideus, which starts at the first ring of cartilage in the throat and extends to the vocal folds as well as two additional cartilage anchor points(the basihyoid and arytenoid). Depending on how the muscle contracts, the vocal cords either tense when the rear of the muscle contracts, or lengthen when the front part of the muscle contracts. The effect this has on the sounds produced by an Au Ra is unclear, but it is undeniably important to their vocal anatomy.

The vocalizations of Au Ra surprisingly begin before they are even born— while in the womb, they can communicate to their parent or any siblings they may have with a whining-toned call, similar to a yelp, or a laser gun. This is extremely apparent near the end of their development, and these vocalizations allow them to sync up their births. Au Ra children tend to have surprisingly loud calls when they need to, but their normal voices are similar to children of any race on Hydaelyn. Different Xaela tribes tend to produce children that use and respond to different calls, allowing tribes to identify when a child is one of theirs or another’s. Raen children, on the other hand, tend to recognize all calls as their own, most likely due to their integration into other cultures, and being less varied in belief and lifestyle than the tribes on the Steppe.

In adults, the vocal range becomes deeper, and more varied. To start, bellows can be used to call for others to meet with them, and sometimes used to size up competitors. The Buduga in particular use this particular call extensively. Purring, or ‘chuffing’ is very common during mating, and some also combine this with infrasonic vibrations that can’t be heard by most other races. Hissing and yelping can both be signs of stress or anxiety, and while not a vocal behavior territorial Au Ra tend to forcefully nod their heads up while in water to produce a loud ‘slap’ noise to mark their territory.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources:  
> “Color Patterns & Scales Structure.” Color Patterns & Scales Structure :: Florida Museum of Natural History, www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-snakes/color-pattern/.  
> Dowling, Herndon G., and George R. Zug. “Courtship and Fertilization.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 4 Apr. 2020, www.britannica.com/animal/reptile/Courtship-and-fertilization.  
> Geggel, Laura. “We Still Don't Know Why These Lizards Have Lime-Green Blood.” LiveScience, Purch, 16 May 2018, www.livescience.com/62589-lizards-green-blood.html.  
> Millburn, Naomi. “How Does an Alligator Communicate?” Animals.mom.com, 21 Nov. 2017, animals.mom.me/alligator-communicate-2539.html.  
> “Sciencespeak: Cricoarytenoideus.” National Geographic, 4 June 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/02/09/sciencespeak-cricoarytenoideus/.  
> “Snake Scales.” Snake Scales - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/snake-scales.  
> “Snakeskin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 May 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakeskin.  
> “Why Bluetongue Lizards' Tongues Are Blue.” Science In Public, 17 Oct. 2019, www.scienceinpublic.com.au/media-releases/why-bluetongue-lizards-tongues-are-blue.
> 
> Also, if you’re interested in joining a discord group dedicated to reading and or writing ffxiv fan fiction, as well as art and playing with each other in game, you can check out Emet-Selch’s Wholesomely Debauched Book Club here!  
> https://discord.gg/wPxqAbx  
> when you get in, you’re asked which fic brought you there! it really helps with the writer’s morale :^)


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